Seoul prepares 1,500 free shuttles in case of bus drivers’ strike
Authorities in Seoul, South Korea, will prepare up to 1,500 free shuttle buses and increase the number of subway services if city bus drivers begin a strike on Wednesday. The emergency transport plan will take effect from the first service if the union starts the strike, Korea Herald reports.
Shuttles and additional subway services
Up to 1,300 leased buses will operate as free shuttles between residential areas, major transport hubs and subway stations across all 25 districts of Seoul. Around 200 more buses will operate on 10 routes along key arterial roads, including Gangnam-daero, Tongil-ro and Dobong-ro.
In the event of a prolonged strike, the city may deploy additional buses on major routes. The planned number of shuttles is more than twice the scale of measures during the January strike, when around 700 vehicles were deployed.
The subway will add 202 services per day, while peak-hour operations will be extended by a total of four hours. The last trains will run until 2:00 a.m. Curbside bus lanes will be temporarily opened to regular traffic, while central dedicated lanes will remain available only to buses.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Wage negotiations
City authorities also plan to deploy local-route buses on temporary trunk routes and make the use of Ttareungi public bicycles free. Schools, public institutions and private companies will be asked to consider delaying the start of work by one hour, while employers will be urged to use remote or flexible work arrangements where possible.
The union and employers have failed to reach an agreement on wages and the methodology for calculating ordinary wages after nine rounds of negotiations since March. The union demands that ordinary wages be calculated on the basis of 176 hours per month and that hourly pay be raised by 7.85%, while employers insist on a 209-hour basis.
A second round of mediation at the Seoul Labor Relations Commission is scheduled for Tuesday. A total of 87.94% of union members working for 61 regular bus operators voted in favor of the strike. Seoul’s city bus system operates around 7,000 buses daily and carries more than 3.79 million passengers on average.
Yeo Chang-kwon, head of Seoul’s transportation bureau, said the city would mobilize as many alternative means of transport as possible to minimize inconvenience for residents.
